On the threshold of reaching another milestone India isgetting ready for a celebration of 60th Independence Day.Fifty nine years ago India became two nations. As the Fatherof the Nation mourned the tragic partition, millions of liveswere shattered, directly or indirectly, by the partitionholocaust. India had a population of 330 millions whenindependence was proclaimed on August 15,1947 - Todaynearly as many are living below the poverty line with perhapsan equal number of people enjoying the benefits of economicboom and market culture.

Two Indias. The India of affluence and the India ofagony, the former is perceived as shining or rising while thelatter as an albatross round the neck of the former—the Indiaof hope and the India of despair. The value system nurturedby Gandhiji that influenced the architects of the Constitutionand ushered in the world’s largest democracy lies buried andwe silence the spirit of the Mahatma with what hedisapproved most—speeches and flowers— at his memorialsand portraits. The ‘faded golden age’ when Nehru’sdemocracy was hailed as the Athens of Asia and IndianParliament, a model worthy of emulation, seldom get amention in public discourse or even in lecture-halls. In lessthan twenty years of independence disappeared Gandhianvalues and British Parliamentary practices, customs andconvention which operating in tandem were expected tosteer Indian democracy towards the goals of equality, equityand justice.

Our educated and qualified youth, both boys and girls,are doing wonders at home and abroad as the champions ofthe new internet-triggered revolution. They are our prideand hope for the future. But they should not forget thatmore than ten times their number of boys and girls of thesame age group have not seen the portals of a college inIndia. The Law of Acceleration operates with such effectthat many of our bright youngsters may fall into the trapdescribed by Japanese sociologist Osamu Nakano that “youthare choosing pleasure over pain, recreation over work,consumption over production and appreciation overcreation.”

No point in blaming the political class or the ruling elitesfor all the ills of our society. The collapse of professional

autonomy and integrity is as alarming as political decay. Thecredibility of the moulder (teacher) the healer (doctor) andthe dispenser of justice (judge)is in doubt. SwamiRanganathananda lamented that “ it is unfortunate thatteachers in India lost faith in their own profession before oursociety lost faith in them.” More recently The Economisthas warned that “today’s disease and medicine havedeveloped great respect for wealth. It will be the nextmillennium’s task to cure it.” A Professor’s lecture(classroom)a doctor’s or lawyer’s fee place a huge burden on the nationalexchequer. Perhaps an unpardonable oversimplification orexaggeration (teachers, it is said, have a right to indulge inthem) if one ventures to say that teachers thrive on students’ignorance, doctors on human disease and lawyers and judgeson litigation just as politicians and civil servants need povertyto survive and the media disaster to succeed! The fact thatthere are outstanding persons in all walks of life—scientists,teachers, doctors, administrators, lawyers, judges, andjournalists —is indisputable. But Gresham’s Law operates tosuch an extent that the bad coins are driving out the goodcoins from both polity and civil society, notwithstanding thefact that we have a President and Prime Minister ofunimpeachable integrity and noble vision.

Swami Vivekananda a hundred and ten years ago andRadhakrishnan fifty years later warned against mansuccumbing to the power of technology. CEM Joad identifiedthe disabling weakness of modern western civilisation asthe disparity between mechanical power and social wisdom.In the early years of our independence some western thinkerscalled India a rainbow bridge between the wisdom of theEast and the knowledge of the West. Technology is vital forour progress and our status as a superpower in software isdeservedly recognised. But as former Harvard PresidentRudenstine and Schumacher observed modern technologymust be allied to ‘human values and traditional humanwisdom.’ India along with China may emerge as a greatpower in this century. Right now it is in our hands to shapeIndia’s future. Lord Acton wrote that ancient Rome wasdestroyed not by any external enemy because it had no enemyit could not conquer but by its own internal weaknesses.History does not teach too often. Two Indias must becomeone, not twenty.

Every ten or fifteen years since Independence India's reputation has swung from that of a land of great

opportunity to that of a country with an uncertain future. - Bimal Jalan

BULLETINOF THE

CENTRE FOR POLICY STUDIES(GAYATRI VIDYA PARISHAD)

Vol.10 No.6Aug 2, 2006

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SIXTIETH INDEPENDENCE DAY

In the world today which is a dangerous world, it is essential that we hold together,that we work together and build this new India together. - Jawaharlal Nehru2

SCIENCE AND SPIRITUALITY - II

Sri M. NARASIMHAPPA,IRS

Commissioner of Income Tax, Visakhapatnam.

(Lecture delivered on 20-05-06

at Centre for Policy Studies

Gayatri Vidhya Parishad)

Creation of cosmos – Big Bang – Black holes :

I was 22 Then one day I was looking into the RD’sAtlas and reading the Big Bang Theory. There was BlackHole – prior to any creation. There was a Bang. Billionsof stars, star systems, galaxies were formed. The cosmosstarted expanding, even now also it is expanding. SirEddington calls it expanding universe. The stars that areexpanding gather mass. By their very weight they wouldagain collapse into black whole. Black Hole is a vast emptyspace which even light can’t escape. Again the creationstarts. The Mahapralaya which has been described in theancient religious texts. Not the small tsunamies which weexperienced where a few thousands got buried in waterygrave which couldn’t be prevented by any great scientificadvancement.

Pothana :

I heard in Bhagavatham there is a reference to" lokambulu, Lokesulu, Lokasthulu Tegina TudiAlokambagu Penjee Avvala Evvandu Ekakruti velugu”.

The light beyond Black Hole!!. How could Pothana apoet could talk of something similar to Black whole andalso beyond. He was a devotee of God – not a scientist.Let us see some startling similarities between science andspirituality.

So in this ever expanding infinite cosmos where thereare billions of galaxies, billions of star system our solarsystem is a small one in which our great earth is a smallplanet revolving around Sun, having 2/3 water, 1/3 land,with 84 lakhs of species of life out of which human beingsare one and there are 5 billions of humans and I am oneamong them and I think that I know everything or manythings in this world – not even aware of how many universesare there in the cosmos!

I said to myself preposterous! In the cosmos anindividual however, great he may be is too insignificant.No need to explain my insignificance. I am like an atom inthe cosmos. I am cut to right size. My search to know alittle of the Truth – The ultimate Truth in an understandablerational way commenced. A strong desire arose. A prayerlike desire. A quest, a search commenced.

Words of Jesus:

The seeking started. I am reminded of the great words

of Jesus. Seek you shall find; knock it shall be opened.Ask it shall be given. What has been given to me, I honestlywould like to place it before you. Please see whether it isuseful to you. If it is I am fulfilled. I will be glad that I havebeen useful to somebody, if not pardon me for taking yourtime. I am still a seeker. I am confident that I am walkingon the path. The path is actually goal less. The path itselfis the goal. Then onwards a lot of things started appearingdifferently. It is an understanding. It may be intuition. Itmay be irrational to others. But it is OK for me. The searchis for answering my own doubts, questions. I believeeveryone has to search for himself. You have to find yourown answers. First questions have to arise before answerscould be found. My answers are to my questions. Yourquestions may be different. Consequently your answersmay also be different. Sometimes our questions may besimilar. Let us explore together. We can have interactivesession towards the end if you feel it is useful.

Spiritualism – God:

All religions proclaim that God is One, though thereare serious differences about who is that One. The Hindugod – Vishnu/Shiva/Adi Shakti, Jewish God Jehoa, ParsiZoraster? Or Divine Father of Jesus or Allah? Or ProphetMuhammed or Param Sunyam / Black hole or Buddhatalked about ? In the name of that One God, mankindfought several wars killing millions. Interestingly all religionsproclaim that God is not only one but He is omnipresent(present in all), omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (allknowing). Budhism, Jainism, Taoism are exceptions tothis.

We are familiar with Vedic saying – Ekam Sat VipraBahuda Vadanti. Truth is one but knowledgeable peopledescribe it in various ways. Everest is the one peak. Butdescription of Everest may vary depending upon the waythe mountaineer climbed – Nepal or Chinese side.

In spirituality God has been described as Truth. Truthnot that of spoken truth vs. lies which we commonly refer.The truth i.e. the ultimate, that which exists forever withoutany change irrespective of time and place. The Truth whichis beyond time and place. The Eternal, The Immortal, TheBack ground, The Substratum of all.

It is said that God was one. He got bored. He wantedto be many. He created this universe.

Eternity :

We use the word frequently, what is eternity vs.time.Time is duration taken by the earth two revolve arounditself. One revolution is 24 hrs.i.e.one day, 365 days,1year. In our solar system like earth other planets are there.For eg. Jupiter takes around 5 yrs.to revolve around itself.If we imagine there is a man living in Jupiter. Our 5 yrs

Etiquette is a ticket to barbarism. - Sri Sathya Sai Baba 3

will be his one day. His one year will be our 365 X 5 =1825 years. His life time say 80 yrs.will be 1,46,000 yrs.1.46 lakh yrs – 1825 life times. That means our life spanis so small for a man living on Jupiter. We could see oneparallel here. During rainy season there are small insectsin Rayalaseema we call ‘usullu’ which take birth and growand die near lamps, all in a few hours. For those insectswe appear as devathas – unending life, because we lookthe same at the time of their birth and death.

Our lives are similar to those insects for the beingswho may be there in other distant planets. As we havediscussed earlier, there are billions of star systems – galaxiesthat are billions of light years away from our planet – lighttravellig @ speed of 186,000 miles per second. Even ifman invents a vehicle which can travel at the speed oflight he can hardly travel a fraction of universe leave aloneexploring it. So it is impossible for any country or the entireworld to know a fraction of cosmos. That may help us tounderstand the vastness of universe / cosmos – infinityand eternity of universe / cosmos.

This is the ‘Virat purusha’ described in the Purushasukta of our ancient Vedic texts. The Virat purusha darsanaArjuna was bestowed upon by Srikrishna, Lord Vishnuincarnate.

To me the parallel to this in science is E=MC2 thefamous equation of Albert Einstein who gave to thescientific world Theory of Relativity. Just as Adi Sankarasimplified the bewildering variety of Gods and Goddessesto one single entity – Sat – The Truth – Advaita – A –Dwaitha No 2’s – the perfect logical expression. If yousay one there must be other 2, 3 etc. Hence the greatexpression there are no 2’s. It is a koan as we see in ZenBudhism. It is a sound of a clap of a single hand. Mind issilenced. Great void occurs. The void of womb beforecreation. The mahasoonya – Lord Buddha spoke about.The ‘Paripoorna Soonya’ the soonya which is pregnantall that is the all that could ever be.

Einstein reduced the diverse world to one single entity‘energy’. Sum total of energy and matter are constant inthe cosmos. Energy and matter can neither be creatednor destroyed. Energy and matter are interchangeable.This is the law of conservation of energy. This is purephysics – science. This is what has been echoed in theconcept.

Esavasyamidam Sarvam. God is omnipresent – allpervading.

Indugaladu Anduledu Anu Sandehambu valadu – chakriSarvopathundu endendu chuchina Ande kaladu.

(to be continued)

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SEMINAR ON TRAFFIC

MANAGEMENT

(CPS organised a Seminar on ‘Public Participation inTraffic Management’ on June 15th, 06 with PoliceCommissioner Sri V.S.K. Kaumidi, IPS as the Chief Guest)

Commissioner of Police V.S.K. Kaumudi has said thatthere should be mandatory traffic clearance for schoolsbefore they are set up.

In an interactive programme on ‘Public participationin traffic management,’ organized by the Centre for Policystudies (CPS) of Gayatri Vidya Parishad (GVP) here onThursday evening, he referred to the mushroomingeducational institutions at the busy Asselmetta Junction inthe city resulting in traffic congestion. If only trafficclearance was made mandatory before starting a school,such problems could be prevented, he felt.

Distinguishing lanes

When a student named Meghna Jain of TimpanySchool suggested distinguishing lanes on roads for differentcategories of vehicles like two, three and four wheelers,Mr. Kaumudi replied that it could be made possible oncethe road-widening programme was completed. On the issuof teenagers driving two-wheelers, he said only those above18 years were permitted to drive vehicles with gears, Withrespect to the problem of parking of vehicles, which was amajor convert, he said even road widening might not be asolution and it was necessary to create parking lots.

Regarding overcrowding of auto rickshaws, the PoliceCommissioner admitted that children were packed likesardines in autos and commented that parents were tryingto save money at the risk of their child’s life. To a suggestionfrom Valli Ramgopal that committees to be set up to tacklethe issue, he said he would not mind forming committeeswith the public if only it would be if help.

Mr. Kaumudi also disclosed that the Director Generalof Legal Metrology had spoken to him on the daysuggesting fixing of meters in auto-rickshaws.

Participants felt that ‘arrogance’ and ‘ignorance’ onthe part of vehicle drivers are the main causes of roadaccidents, most of which are preventable. Reckless drivingby two wheelers, auto rickshaws and truck drivers neededto be checked. Auto-rickshaws and taxi drivers should beeducated on traffic rules. Smt. Valli Ramgopal suggestedinvolument of school students in programmes on trafficregulation.

(Courtesy: The Hindu, 17-6-06)

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Pure idealism divorced from realities has no place in politics. - Motilal Nehru4

GAS HYDRATES – A POTENTIAL

ENERGY RESOURCE

- Prof. M.N. Sastri

The world energy demand is on a steep rise. TheInternational Energy Agency forecasts that the world willneed 60 percent more energy in 2030 than in 2002. Thecurrent oil and gas reserves, which form the bedrock ofmodern life will last only a few decades. A barrel of crudeis expected to touch $100 very soon. Added to this is theincreasing insecurity of oil supplies in the changinggeopolitical scenario. Nuclear power, which has been inlimbo since the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl accidents,has once again come into limelight as a viable alternativecommercial energy source.

Another potential energy source that is engaging theattention of nations is Gas Hydrate Deposits. The gashydrates are frozen cages of water molecules filled withmethane, the main constituent of natural gas. The ice-likematerials, also called clathrates, form at low temperaturesand high pressures in deep sea. They are stable at thetemperatures and pressures that occur in ocean floorsediments at a water depth greater than about 500 meters.At these pressures they are stable at temperatures abovethose for ice stability. Apart from methane, otherhydrocarbons also form hydrates. Of the hydrates, themethane hydrates are the most abundant in the oceanfloor sediments. The breakdown of a unit volume ofmethane hydrate at atmospheric pressure produces about160unit volumes of methane gas. A clump of a gas hydratelooks like a snowball. It is flammable. When set on fire itburns with a blue flame. The worldwide deposits ofmethane gas hydrates are estimated to range from2.8 x 1015 to 8 x 1018 trillion cubic meters of boundmethane gas, about 100 times as great as the conventionalnatural gas resources. The gas hydrates are concentratedwhere there is a rapid accumulation of organic debriswashed into the bays from river mouths from which bacteriagenerate methane. They also exist in areas where there isa rapid accumulation of sediments, which protect detritusfrom oxidation. Extensive resources of gas hydrates existin many laces around the world. A quarter of the worldhydrates are located in the Alaskan North Shops of theArctic perm a frost zone, the Gulf of Mexico and the BlakeRidge off the coast of North Carolina. If only one percentof the methane stored in these hydrates could be recoveredit would more than double the current US domestic supplyof natural gas. All these deposits are located in hostileenvironment where humans do not usually go and wherehumans cannot function without special equipments andprotection.

Japan, US, Canada, Russia, Norway and India areamong the countries that have initiated investigations onthe gas hydrate resources. India has hired a special shipJoides Resolution to undertake drilling operations for thehydrate deposits. The areas where drilling will beundertaken are the Kerala-Konkan Basin on the west coast,Krishna-Godavary and the Mahanandi Basins on the eastcoast and the off-shore Andaman Islands. It is estimatedthat the resources of gas hydrates in these regions are ofthe order of 1.891 x 103 trillion cubic meters almost 1,900times India’s proven conventional gas resources.

Formidable obstacles have to be got over for exploitingthe gas hydrate deposits as fuel. When removed from thehigh pressure and low temperature environment, the gashydrate decomposes and releases the hydrocarboncontained in it. Technology is yet to be developed for thesafe transport of the large amounts of the hydrates formthe sea bottom deposits to the production facilities on land.Japan has taken the lead on gas hydrate exploration asthe country currently depends entirely on oil and gasimports from foreign countries. Japan hopes to achieveby 2015 the commercial production of gas from thehydrate deposit in Nankai Trough off the country’s easterncoast. The US also has plans to extract methanecommercially in less than two decades. Development oftechnology for Extraction and distribution of the gas in acost-effective manner will meet the soaring global energydemands.

There are environmental implications also in the gashydrate exploitation. Methane, a greenhouse gas, is tentimes more effective than carbon dioxide in causing climatewarming. Large-scale release of methane gas throughinefficient technology could therefore lead to enhancedglobal warming. With reports of melting of the arcticicecaps and sea level rise, scientists also foresee a possibilityof the release of methane in significant quantities from thewarming Arctic sediments. This could also markedlydestabilize the global climate.

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Sustainable Water Resources

- issues and perspectives -

with special reference to Ground Water

- Dr. P. Rajendra PrasadProfessor in Geophysics

Andhra University

Life on the planet Earth depends on the availability ofthe water. Though large resources of water are availableon the earth, they are unevenly distributed with a highly

Soft power is the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than coercion or payments. - Joseph Nye 5

variable quality. More than 94 % of the global waterresources are found to be in oceans and 2 % in the form ofice caps and glaciers while the remaining 4 % is in theform of ground water. The water available in lakes, riversand in the atmosphere does not exceed 0.05 %. Thebulk of the water that is contained in the oceans and in theice caps and glaciers cannot practically be used. This hasbeen driving the attention of every one towards groundwater as the major fresh water resource.

The quest for water resources has been ever increasingwith rapid increase in urbanization, agricultural production,industrialization and population growth. The phenomenalgrowth in these sectors has not only contributed to asignificant change in the climatic conditions but alsoeffected the very elements of hydrological cycle. This inturn, has resulted in the frequent failure of monsoons anda severe imbalance in demand and supply of this resource.The impact of these events has mounted unprecedentedstress on ground water resources. In countries like India,where more than 75% of the land is covered with hardrock terrain, these problems are more complex which createa cumulative impact not only on the quantity but also onthe quality of the resource. The problems of waterresources are getting more and more complex because ofimproper or insufficient management strategies in spaceand time domains rather than their availability. Thedevelopments that have been taking place in thisincreasingly health conscious society have imparted a veryhigh importance to quality more than quantity irrespectiveof whether the country or the people are poor or rich.

Since the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, it has becomeobvious that there can be no sustainable developmentwithout sustainable settlements. However, the issue ofurban environmental sustainability is becoming more andmore critical in the recent years. The fast expanding largecities raise many problems for water resources managementdemanding an integrated approach. Adequate water supplyand safe water drainage system are the urgent tasks whileeffective solutions need to be found to overcome theproblems of water scarcity, deteriorating water quality, lackof effective supply systems, inappropriate handling of wastewater, inadequate storm water management etc. Whilelearning from the experiences of the West and trying toadopt their systems in the water resources sector, one hasto realize that water resources management in developingcountries is significantly different from the developed world.To mention a few, management of water supply andsanitation system is given least importance resulting infrequent disruptions and contamination of supply sources.In general the operation and maintenance of water supplyand sanitation systems, which are the backbone of

sustainable resources, are given very low priority whileaugmenting of new facilities are historically given highestpriority. It is time that an interdisciplinary outlook, takinginto account the hydrological, technical, environmental andsocio-economic aspects, is inevitable in the water sector,right from planning to the execution level. In thedevelopment and management of water resources one hasto build the system with special attention to the following:

(1) Integrated water resources management(2) Sustainable and socio-economic and eco-

environmental management(3) Urban drainage/flooding and waste water

management and(4) Water quality monitoring in management

A large amount of the budget allocated for the waterresources sector is being spent on the development andmanagement of surface water resources including thoseof lakes and swamps on one side while the changingclimatic conditions have turned many of the perennial riversinto ephemeral rivers in the recent years on the other.This in turn has forced the population in the delta regionsto opt for indiscriminate exploitation of ground waterresources for agricultural purposes leading to even extremeconditions like subsidence. Similarly, the improper andpoorly managed drainage systems in the delta regionscomplimented by intensive agricultural and irrigationpractices have lead to the condition of irrecoverable soilsalinity.

India is one of the few developing countries which haspassed through a very good phase of green revolutionreaching a step beyond self-sufficiency in food production.In spite of this positive trend, the Indian farming communityhave not been either trained or tuned to switch from theconventional agricultural and irrigational practices so easily.It is time that the policy makers and the executive authoritiesconcerned consult the public mainly the farmers insuggesting different crops suitable to the presenting andchanging water resources, climate and soil characteristics.More emphasis needs to be laid on people’s participationand their acceptance initiating in all these technically andenvironmentally sustainable programmes.

For example, the use of ground water for agriculturalpurposes has experienced an exponential growth in thelast three decades in the state of Andhra Pradesh whichhas lead to the extinction of this precious commodity inmany regions. This certainly is not a welcoming observationin the water resources sector. This, however, can beaverted, if more economical and environmental friendlyalternate cropping and land use patterns are suggested atright time.

Except the deltaic and coastal regions and a very small

East was the kingdom of Voice, West the kingdom of the Instrument - Margaret Cousins6

catchment area along the major river sources, the rest ofthe country is dominated by hard rock hydogeology. Thecharacteristic difference with the hard rock terrain ascompared to the soft rock areas is that the ground waterrecharge is highly non uniform and very low in the formeras compared to the later. In hard rock regions the rechargelocations are confined to very small areal extents controlledby structural features. As a result more than 50 per centof the atmospheric water reaching the surface asprecipitation reaches the ocean as surface run off, whilevery limited quantities percolate the sub-surface to jointhe ground water regime. This supplemented by overexploitation which results in steep decline in ground waterlevels. In some areas wells drilled even up to 150 metershave gone dry in recent years.

Urbanization and industrialization have mountedenormous amount of stress on urban aquifers. Theindiscriminate exploitation of ground water has gone farbeyond the replenishable limits. The unregulated disposalof industrial effluents and the sewerage fluids altered theground water quality conditions and the surface and shallowsub-surface soils due to heavy pollution. The municipalsupply systems are not designed to withstand the pressuresof even laminar flow resulting from increasing supplies.Though the local governments have been spendingenormous amount of money in augmenting alternate andadditional sources, the supply and distribution systemsare not geared up to handle the increasing supplies. As aresult, the frequent damages that take place in the supplymechanism facilitates an easy contamination leave alonethe heavy loss of this precious commodity. Lack ofawareness and personal interest prompted the elite of theurban region to resort to indiscriminate punching of theground below them, without even thinking about theposterity. Though the ground water reserves are estimatedto be sufficiently high to cater to the growing needs of thepopulation for some more time, the inefficientmanagement strategies creates severe problems in quantityand quality. The coastal cities are highly vulnerable to seawater intrusion. Intensive agricultural practices with surplususe fertilizers and pesticides result in poor quality produceand degenerated ground water quality and soil.

It is time that proper management strategies shouldbe in place with commitment of the policy makers andthe executing authorities and voluntary participation ofuser groups. The major key issues that need to beaddressed in this sector are:

• More stringent regulatory norms

• People’s participation from planning to execution

• Close monitoring of water quality conditions and criteria

• Improved supply systems that can efficiently handle thegrowth rate

• Awareness on the cost of the commodity

Water wars, not only between countries and regionsbut also between neighbors, perhaps are not too far off,can be averted by designing and implementing efficientmanagement strategies. Development is no more a seriousproblem but management with minimum uncertainty is

the need of the day.

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SEDATIVE MUSIC

- Dr. T.V. Sairam, IRS

Member CESTAT, Delhi.

In recent times, music therapy has gained world-widerecognition as a non-invasive complementary approachto medicine. With an ever-expanding body of researchliterature as its base, music can be prudently used for it’stherapeutic role towards making healthy individuals, andthereby a hale and hearty society.

What makes a Music, Sedative?

Sedative music, we all know, is that type of music whichhas a sustained melodic line at a tempo of around 60 beats/minutes (almost at the slow pace of the human heart-rate).Usually devoid of ‘analytical’ lyrics, the rhythms here areweak, vague and at times even faltering inducing soporificambience.

Often percussions are not necessary for this type of

music

For instance, many of the chants (mentioning thenames of God), which do not stimulate the thinking facultyof the brain do fall under this category.

In India, there has been a long time-tested (rather, time-honoured) tradition of using a thousand names(sahastranama) of the Lord in simple melodies withoutcomplicated beats: archika, (melody constructed with onlyone note), gathika (melody of two notes) and samika

(melody of three notes), which are not really ragas, butcan be referred to as proto-ragas. (To qualify to be a raga,at least dfive swaras or notes are expected to be present inthe raga scale).

Many of the slokas and other vedic recitations wererendered in proto-ragas, which have a direct impact oncontrolling (or shrinking) the mind, unlike the elaborate(fully developed) raga scales which help us in expandingthe process of mental thinking, improving our analyticalability.

It is easier to denature plutonium than to denature the evil spirit in man. - Albert Einstein 7

The Advantage of Mental Shrinkage

By shrinking the thought processes, sedative musichelps us in concentration. It helps us in focusing our mind,thereby strengthening our thoughts, words and actions.Besides, this genre of music has proved analgesic effectstoo.

A recent Scientific Experiment

In an experiment conducted recently by Voss and hisco-workers (2004) used sedative music to determinewhether such music would reduce anxiety, pain sensationand pain distress in the post operative setting followingopen heart surgery.

A total of 61 adult, postoperative, open heart surgerypatients were randomly assigned to receive 30 minutes ofsedative music (n=19), scheduled rest (n=21), or usualtreatment (n=21) during chair rest. During the experimentaspects such as anxiety, pain sensation and pain distresswere measured with visual analog scales at chair restinitiation and at 30 minutes.

It was concluded that in the sedative music andscheduled rest groups, anxiety, pain sensation and paindistress all decreased significantly, whereas there were nosignificant differences in the treatment-as-usual group.After chair rest, the patients in the sedative music groupwere found to have 72% less anxiety, 57% less painsensation and 69% less pain distress than the patients whounderwent scheduled rest. This study also supports theprevious studies that reported that sedative music is moreeffective than scheduled rest or usual treatment in reducinganxiety in this setting.

This study thus confirms that no pharmacologicinterventions offer multiple benefits in this critically illpatient group, and thus there is an urgent need to re-introduce unverbalized chants for their soothing effects asa part of post-operative health care in all hospitals andnursing homes in this country.

Motivating and engaging patients towards a musicalexperience of sedative genre would stimulate the relaxationresponse, provide comfort, or distract them from feelingsof anxiety and pain towards more pleasant sensations.Such a step may also modulate noise annoyance associatedwith the busy surroundings of coronary care units.

It is interesting to note that Mahatma Gandhi, the fatherof our Nation, had made it a point to have a daily prayersession in the evenings, when people used to congregateand sing several songs composed in sedative raga pattern.

Perhaps, this tryst with sedative music must have made

him and his followers adopt and stick to non-violence asthe basic theme of the freedom struggle. It is noexaggeration to say here that the right kind of music impartsthe right behaviour.

In this context, it is also relevant to recall here theextent Sanskrit text Raga Chikitsa which is reported tocontain specific prescriptions of ragas for alleviating variousailments.

As the body of evidence in favour of music therapygrows in leaps and bounds, it is necessary that morehospitals at least make a beginning to consider sedativemusic theraphy as an adjunct not only to the care of piost-operative heart patients, but also the other stress-pronepeople from all walks of life: ranging from students facingcompetitive examinations and the IT personnel ‘burningthe mid-night CDs’. Even medical personnel such asphysicians, surgeons and nursing staff badly need a ‘doseof appropriate music’ before they start their day withpatients!

While prescribing therapeutic music, sufficient care hasto be exercised in formulating the right kind of tonality,pitch, duration, timing and (more importantly) volume ofsuch music, taking in consideration the clients’ constitutionand his or her expectations.

(e-mail: tvsairam@gmail.com)

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Human Values In The Era Of Globalisation

Technology Vs Social Wisdom - I

- A. Prasanna Kumar

(From the Rt.Hon.V.S.Srinivasa Sastri MemorialLecture delivered at Ranade Hall, Chennai on June24,2006)

It is an honour to have been invited to deliver theV.S.Srinivasa Sastri memorial lecture today and I conveymy gratitude to the members of the memorial trust,particularly to Sri S.V.Ramakrishnan for giving me thisprivilege. As a scholar, orator and master of Englishlanguage Sastriar won the admiration of all those privilegedto know him and hear him. His lectures on the Ramayanawere masterly discourses and Mahatma Gandhi whohimself wrote a beautiful book on the "Efficacy ofRamanama" evinced a keen interest in them. Rt.Hon’bleSrinivasa Sastri became famous as an orator who heldthe audience in thrall. No less significant was the mannerin which he enriched the society in which he lived and theinspiring legacy he left behind. That is why he is stillremembered with gratitude and admiration. Shri K.Iswara

The mind is like white linen fresh from the laundry; it takes the colour in which you dip it. - Sri Ramakrishna8

Dutt, my late uncle and well -known journalist, used to tellus about Sri Sastriar’s ortaory and the literary artistry ofhis writings. Sri Sastriar commended Iswara Dutt’sTwentieth Century as an ‘organ of true education in publicaffairs.’ Satsriar’s brother Sri V.S.Ramaswami Sastri wasIswara Dutt’s colleague on the staff of The Hindu. To payhomage to the memory of such a multi-faceted stalwart isno ordinary task and I am fully conscious of the fact that Iam unequal to it. It is with trepidation and in utmost humilitythat I venture to stand before the distinguished gatheringto deliver the memorial lecture.

The topic I have chosen to speak on is ‘ Human Valuesin the Era of Globalisation.’ There is some semanticambiguity surrounding these terms. Still, the precious timeof this august body need not be wasted over clarificationsabout the meaning and scope of the terms human valuesand globalisation. Values are the soul of every civilisedsociety. From ancient times to the modern age values haveshaped human quest for peace, progress and happiness.Ancient India, as Amartya Sen refers to in his bookArgumentative Indian, was known for such values, amongother things, as free debate, discussion and gender equality.Explaining the argumentative tradition Sen extols the roleof Buddhist councils and of Ashoka and Akbar, ‘ two ofthe grandest emperors of India’, in upholding discussionas a means of progress and pursuit of reason ingovernance. Public reasoning was regarded as central toparticipatory governance. The Nobel Laureate shows howtolerance, mutual respect and healthy public debate wereregarded as eternally relevant values in the Indian tradition.Athens, the cradle of Greek civilisation, held publicdiscourses on virtue, knowledge and good society. Platoand Aristotle believed in putting ‘great ideas into the serviceof man.’

Jawaharlal Nehru, never known to be religious minded,discovered how great religions, two from within and twofrom outside, strengthened the Indian tradition. If Hinduismstood for tolerance and Buddhism for compassion,Christianity and Islam that came from outside gave Indiasuch values as service and social equality respectively.Mahatma Gandhi who led the greatest non-violentrevolution in history conceived and nurtured a value systemthat shaped the freedom struggle, influenced thephilosophy underlying the Constitution and became thebedrock of independent India’s political culture. Gandhiji’snon-violence has become the creed of emancipators andpolitical activists in different parts of the world whether itwas Martin Luther King Jr four decades ago or NelsonMandela and Desmond Tutu of our times. The Mahatma’scrusade for Harijan emancipation is today called socialjustice and Hindu-Muslim unity has become the larger goal

of national integration. It is significant that despite clashof political interests and party rivalry, the place of thesevalues in the Indian polity has never been questioned sinceIndia became a free nation.

Scientists and intellectuals too have accepted that valuesconstitute the ultimate goal of every society. The scienceof values, it is said, includes aesthetics, art, logic ethics,.Values are defined as ‘those things towards which manlooks for the satisfaction of his strivings.’ A writer describedscience as ‘essentially an artistic enterprise stimulatedlargely by curiosity, served largely by disciplined imaginationand based largely on faith in the reasonableness, orderand beauty of the universe of which man is part.’A.N.Whitehead said that science is the outcome ofinstructive faith. That instructive faith is shaped by humanvalues. Science has conferred on man innumerablebenefits. Man claims to have conquered even nature. Still,science has not been able to solve the riddles of humanrelationship. Relationship of science to society haschanged. Three hundred years ago ‘how’ to do was theproblem. The ‘whys’ and ‘hows’ of the past have becomenow ‘what' i.e., what to do? Science in ancient times wasconcerned with philosophy. Now with technology it is usedto acquire control over matter and resource for the benefitof man. It can help in eradicating poverty and misery. Itcan make life more comfortable than ever before andincrease life expectancy enormously. It has also the powerto destroy life and blow up planet earth in seconds. DavidBromwich writes that we can give humanistic value toalmost anything by teaching it historically. “Geology,economics, and mechanics are humanities when taughtwith their reference to successive achievements of geniusesto which these sciences owe their being. Not taught thus,literature remains grammar, art a catalogue, history a listof dates and natural science a sheet of formulas and weightsand measures.” After spending millions of dollars onmodernisation of the university’s infrastructure Presidentof Harvard University Neil L Rudenstine declared that“In the end education is a fundamentally human process.It is a matter of values and significant action not simplyinformation or even knowledge….. how to create ahumane and just society.” That is a challenge beforehumankind. A society that ensures equality and justice forall is a humane and just society. But there is glaringasymmetry at both global and national and local levels.The poor and less developed countries are afflicted withpolitical, social and economic crises. As The Economist(August 14-20, 1999) observed “the challenge is that ofmobilisation of global science and technology to addressthe crises of public health, agricultural productivity,

A high development of intellectual faculties does not imply spiritual and true life. - Madame Blavatsky

environmental degradation and demographic stressconfronting these countries.”

We are living in exciting times thanks to the thirdtechnological revolution. Information technology hasushered in a new age. Peter Drucker calls it the fourthinformation revolution. Knowledge is the key resourceand the essence of knowledge society is mobility. Timeand distance have been conquered. “The power of pace isoutstripping the power of place,” says an expert whoexplains how the law of acceleration does not relax to suitthe convenience of man. Unlike the earlier industrialrevolution, the computer revolution does not allow timefor human and institutional adjustment. As Schlesinger saysthe new revolution is ‘far swifter, more concentrated andmore drastic in impact.’ Information society is higher thanagricultural and industrial societies. IT has produced a newsource of wealth that is not material. It is information andknowledge applied to work to create wealth.

This is called the age of globalisation characterised byincreases in flows of trade, capital and information, aswell as mobility of individuals across borders. A report ofthe UNDP says that “ global markets, global technology,global ideas and global solidarity can enrich the lives ofpeople everywhere. The challenge is to ensure that thebenefits are shared equitably and that this increasinginterdependence works for people, not just for profits.”Stating that globalisation is not new Amartya Sen explainshow it occurred before the millennium thanks to theChinese, Arabs, Indians and others. India, writes Sen, hasbeen an exporter and importer of ideas. Globalisation isdescribed as global movement of ideas, people goods andtechnology that different regions of the world have tendedto benefit from progress and development occurring inother regions. There is no denying the fact that globalisation‘has swung open the door of opportunities.’ Theemergence of new role players in world affairs is asignificant development. China and India are emerging asthe new giants on the global scene, though both thesecountries have millions living in poverty and backwardness.

(To be continued)� � �

Deteriorating Ethical Values inthe Indian Polity-an observation

Dr. A. Venkata Rao, M.A., PH.D.

Associate ProfessorDept. of Politics & Pub. Admn.,

A.U. P.G. Extn. Centre, Kakinada

The several events of violence of the past and thepresent that occured in this country on several counts

during the last 59 years of Independent India are a causefor concern and worry to the freedom fighters and right-thinking people. The relentless struggle of the freedomfighters against the colonial rule yielded results and Indiabecame a free-nation. The sepoy mutiny of 1857, thefirst upsurge against colonial rule, was described by thatgreat veteran freedom fighter, Dr. Pattabhi Seetaramayya,as “the first war of Indian Independence”. Many sectionsof the people participated in the freedom struggle toredeem their mother land from the clutches of the British.Moderates. Extremists. revolutionaries and finallyGandhians through their varied approaches fought for onegoal - a free Independent India. The concerted efforts ofall those people under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhifrom 1920 to 1947 brought liberty to the Indians. Gandhijigave new impetus to the freedom movement by choosingthe path of ‘AHIMSA’ (Non-Violence) which forced theBritish to leave the nation on 15th August. 1947. Thefirst Prime Minister of India. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehrujubiliantly proclaimed in the Parliament on the midnightof 14th August 1947. “At the stroke of the midnight hourwhile the world sleeps. we awake to our freedom”.

After gaining Independence and after declaring India,a Sovereign Democratic Republic on 26th January. 1950.India took long strides towards progress and alrounddevelopment. All citizens of India enjoy liberty, equality,fraternity and equal justice. Even before fully enjoying thefruits of freedom the people are threatened by manyobstacles / impediments in their path to progress. Atpresent, several impediments are causing worry to thenation. The various causes that are likely to threaten theintegrity, safety and security of the nation are analysedhereunder. It is time for administrators and statesmen toponder over this matter for suggesting remedial recourseto the deteriorating value system in this great nation thatis mother India.

1. Placing self above society :

Gone are those days of sacrifice and service to thenation. Now a days people are more interested in theirself than the country or it’s people. Even the professionalsin various services are not service minded/oriented butare always looking for that extra rupee for their selfaggrandisement. Health services, education and otherservice sectors, instead of catering to the commoner areexploiting even the poorest of the poor, which is likely tolead to a revolution, that might end up in chaos.

2. Corruption :

Corruption in government and other walks of life isthe root cause of so many ills in the society. Corruptionhas spread it’s tentacles to every nook and corner and isspreading like wild fire and becoming as incurable as cancer.This is likely to eat into the vitals of this nation and crippleus for ever.

9

We are both spectators and actors in the great drama of existence. - Niels Bohr10

3. Criminalisation of Politics :

Politics once upon a time, were associated with serviceto humanity and honour to the politician. But nowpoliticians have drifted away from the political theories /values advocated by political thinkers of the classical ages.A new trend has emerged in the criminalisation of politicsin India due to the non-participation of right thinkingintelligentsia in Indian Politics. Cut-throats, black-marketers,smugglers, rowdy sheeters. Mafia and gangsters with theirmoney and muscle power have become the law-makersby finding a route to the legislative bodies. This should becurtailed at any cost to cleanse the Indian political system.Otherwise, this is going to be a dangerous threat to thevery existence of this great nation.

4. Regionalism :

Sectarianism and regionalism are slowly dominatingthe Indian Political System which is going to be a gravethreat to the stability and integrity of the nation. Now adays one finds the sprouting of one regional party or theother every where in this land for the personal gains ofthe leaders. Because of this the spirit of one nation andone national mind is under threat. In the interests of thenation the sectarian outlook of the politicians and peoplemust be curtailed.

5. Casteism :

India is a composition of many castes andcommunities., Caste is playing a pivotal role in politics inmany states i.e., Bihar, Uttar Pradesh etc., Caste shouldhave been a thing of the past as foreseen by the foundingfathers of the Indian Constitution. But it is not so. It is timefor the Indians to we purely Indians and nothing but Indians.

6. Religion :

Religion is said to be an opium. Under it’s spell abrother kills a brother. This is the utmost evil in the annalsof out country. People should not be divided on the basicsof one’s religion because our birth is but an accident. Thisreligious fanaticism must not be allowed to divide ordifferentiate a brother from a brother or a sister from asister. Only then people can live in peace and prosperityand help the nation in its progress from a brother or asister from a sister. Only then people can live in peace andprosperity and help the nation in its progress.

7. Terrorism :

Terrorism activities in Kashmir, Punjab,Maharastra, North Eastern States etc; have taken theirtoll and wounded the motherland very seriously. Thenational security and stability is threatened. This needs tobe curtailed at any cost for a harmonious and peacefulliving of the people. One says that smoking is injurious to

health, so also terrorism is injurious to the health of thenation. The need of the hour is a terror-free India. Weneed a healthy mother and not a sick-mother to look afterher children.

8. Conclusion :

National spirit and national integration and adherenceto ethical values can be inculcated only through education.Parents and Teachers should make the children understandthe importance of patriotism and integration. Childrenshould be taught morals and good habits. They should bebrought up in such a way that they should not desire orhope to grab the things of others. The basic philosophy ofhuman rights such as brother hood, human dignity andrespect for mutual rights should be at home. Politicalcommunication should be value based. Gandhian way oflife of love. non-violence, selflessness must become a wayof life for every Indian.

Let us rededicate ourselves and move forward forbuilding up a great India in this 60th Independence Year.

“Mera Bharat Mahan”

� � �

SRI AUROBINDO - I(Aug. 15th 1872 — Dec. 5th 1950)

- Sri C. Sivasankaram

Although, “he was on the high skies only for a time,he flooded the mother land from Cape to mount with theeffulgence of his light” - Dr. B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya.

August is an august month. Its majesty and venerabilitycan be ascribed to its origin, Augustus Caesar. It is noderivation but name after the great Augustus. The monthcorresponds to Sravan of the Hindu almanac. The menborn in this month, doubtless do inherit the leoninecharacter of its imperial ancestor. Lion follows a Law thathis attacks are not wanton.

It was Bengal of the world’s most historic nineteenthcentury. The century in its march saw events that madehistory and this history remained as history that laid pathfor uncommon revolutions, unheard of reforms, unusualchanges of powers; the revolutionary declaration ofCommunist Manifesto, French revolution, ignominous endof Napoleon Bonaparte and rise of Karl Marx, the authorof Das capitol and prophet of proletarian internationalismin the west, the first war of Independence, liquidation ofEast India company, total fall of Moghul Empire, take overof power by Queen Victoria, proclamation of Magna Cartaby the Queen, founding of Indian National Congress andrise of Dr. Sunyat Sen in China in the East register a markedchange and record a major phase in human multifariousaffairs.

Sanskrit is more perfect than Greek, more copious than Latin and more exquisitely refined than either. - Sir William Jones

Of all the provinces of India Bengal bore the brunt of

British colonial yoke. It is also the Bengal that occupies adistinct niche by her supply of distinguished men of letters,men of politics, reformers, yogis and saints. There existednine noble personalities who carved for themselves a lasting

and preeminent chapter in the annals of the sub-continent.

They were; Raja Rammohan Roy, Sri Ramakrishna,

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (author of Ananda Muth,

Vandemataram the National Anthem is a part of it like

Vishnu Sahasranama as part of the Mahabharat),

Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, Iswarachandra

Vidyasagar, Keshab Chandra Sen, Sri Aurobindo and Netaji

Subhas Chandra Bose.

Bengal smarted under the ruthless highhanded rule of

the alien. The Bengalee imbued as he was with ancestral

noblesse and endowed with extraordinary emotional,

intellectual and spiritual gifts showered by the Divine in

heaven took upon himself the tortuous task of freeing his

motherland the Infinite Bharat from British Raj, from the

thralldom of stupid customs like the savage Sahagamana

and rigid widowhood, and bondage of superstition that

corroded what little mine of discrimination and human

sympathy was there in the minds of men. His nationalist

fervous, reformist zeal and zealous commitment akin to

that of a crusader, combined together to evolve a broad

national policy to stand like a rock against onslaughts of

die hard chauvinism and childish religionism that clouded

the fair face of India. The damage done by superstition,

and religious intolerance to the body politic of India was

logically perceived by the informed Bengalee whose soul

and heart were treated to their utmost perfection by the

cheering breeze and pious waters of holy Ganga Purged

as he was of chauvinistic proclivity and narrow parochialism

he gave the nation dauntless spirit of oneness of the nation

assigned to her the role of leader meant to fulfil the long

overdue sense of raising Asia as a whole from her inferior

status to that of a dynamic leader. India’s freedom should

be precursor of freedom of Asia.

The paramount part conspicuously played by Sri

Ramakrishna in the tumultuous conditions prevailing then

is not negligible. The reforms aimed at by Raja Rammohun

Roy and followed by his loyal followers did some good to

the society and saved it from bizarre practices and

oppressive beliefs. The society, however, was not yet ready

to follow the path of discretion and self-knowledge.

At this crucial juncture there arose like beckon light in

the midst of gathering darkness Sri Ramakrishna

Paramahamsa in Dakshineswar, eleven miles from

Kolkatta. The disillusioned new-fangled Rammohunites

realized the futility of their movement to fight down the

ageold and timetested civilization and culture of India by

means un-Indian and philosophy eclectic. Sri Ramakrishna

a born intuitive soul as he was felt the pulse of the nation

and could offer the panacea to cure the malady. His

spiritual light sent its luminous rays on its accord that it

could attract the attention of the reformers who in their

turn enmasse rushed to Dakshineswar to kneel, to

surrender to the crazy saint, shedding the fascination for

introduction of mixed Indo-European form of learning,

habits and attitudes. It was time for them to introspect

and know that Indian culture had deeper-roots than they

imagined. Here they were face to face with the epitome

of the supreme content of the Divine presence embodied

in Sri Ramakrishna the homespun Paramahamsa. The

trances, the ecstasies, the God intoxicated dances, and

sweet and direct parable counsel of him quietened the

atmosphere. It provided with congenial climate to drum

sense in the ears of the native. Twenty three years before

his samadhi there was born on January 12th, 1863

Narendranath Datta, later Vivekananda, the thunder and

lightning of Ramakrishna order. He was a reluctant disciple

at fist of the saint. Ramakrishna’s strange form of instilling

devotion in Bhakta appealed to the doubting Thomas

Narendranath. Before the hour of his Mahasamadhi the

saint transmitted and transferred his divine life's hard

earned spiritual abundance to Swami Vivekananda. Thus

Vivekananda wore the mantle of Sri Ramakrishna and

became repository of a glorious philosophy hitherto

unknown and un experienced by anybody in the universe.

There sprang a mammoth literature round Ramakrishna –

Vivekananda Divine combine which smashed the anglicized

and christianised culture that had a heyday for a few

decades. Now Bengal found her decamped soul and

heaved deep sigh of relief and gained sound liesure to

speculate and formulate timely measures to redeem the

solemn pledge took torn for the sake of the nation as a

whole – freedom of the country the means whatever and

whichever, violence or nonviolence; Bengal emerged

adolescent efficient to light the road towards poorna swaraj

peace and plenty and unification of divisive forces and

disillusioned reformative profligates. The fiery enterprise

of Vivekananda and the shrill cry of world solidarity as aresult of adoptions of Adwaita Vedanta made practicableby the touch of his master and by the robust utterance ofthe truth of it by himself now here, there and everywheretriumphed. This Dhira laid down his mortal coil nine yearsafter Sri Aurobindo's return from England and three yearsbefore Sri Aurobindo took the reins of freedom struggle inBengal. The Swami yielded ground for Sri Aurobindo.

(To be contuned)

11

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SRI AUROBINDO - I

(Aug. 15th — Dec. 5th 1950)

Sri C. Sivasankaram

Although, “he was on the high skies only for a time, he flooded the mother land from Cape to mount with theeffulgence of his light” Dr. B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya.

August is an august month. Its majesty and venerability can be ascribed to its origin, Augustus Caesar. It is noderivation but name after the great Augustus. The month corresponds to Sravan of the Hindu almanac. The men bornin this month, doubtless do inherit the leonine character of its imperial ancestor. Lion follows a Law that his attacks arenot wanton.

It was Bengal of the world’s most historic nineteenth century. The century in its march saw events that madehistory and this history remained as history that laid path for uncommon revolutions, unheard of reforms, unusualchanges of powers; the revolutionary declaration of Communist Manifesto, French revolution, ignominous end ofNapoleon Bonaparte and rise of Karl Marx, the author of Das capitol and prophet of proletarian internationalism in thewest, the first war of Independence, liquidation of East India company, total fall of Moghul Empire, take over of powerby Queen Victoria, proclamation of Magna Carta by the Queen, founding of Indian National Congress and rise of Dr.Sunyat sen in China in the East register a marked change and record a major phase in human multifarious affairs.

Of all the provinces of India Bengal bore the brunt of British colonial yoke. It is also the Bengal that occupies adistinct niche by her supply of distinguished men of letters, men of politics, reformers, yogis and saints. There existednine noble personalities who carved for themselves a lasting and preeminent chapter in the annals of the sub-continent.They were; Raja Rammohan Roy, Sri Ramakrishna, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (author of Ananda Muth, Vandemataramthe National Anthem is a part of it like Vishnu Sahasranama as part of the Mahabharat), Rabindranath Tagore, SwamiVivekananda, Iswarachandra Vidyasagar, Keshab Chandra Sen, Sri Aurobindo and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

Bengal smarted under the ruthless highhanded rule of the alien. The Bengalee imbued as he was with ancestralnoblesse and endowed with extraordinary emotional, intellectual and spiritual gifts showered by the Divine in heaventook upon himself the tortuous task of freeing his motherland the Infinite Bharat from British Raj, from the thralldomof stupid customs like the savage Sahagamana and rigid widowhood, and bondage of superstition that corroded whatlittle mine of discrimination and human sympathy was there in the minds of men. His nationalist fervous, reformist zealand zealous commitment akin to that of a crusader, combined together to evolve a broad national policy to stand likea rock against onslaughts of die hard chauvinism and childish religionism that clouded the fair face of India. Thedamage done by superstition, and religious intolerance to the body politic of India was logically perceived by theinformed Bengalee whose soul and heart were treated to their utmost perfection by the cheering breeze and piouswaters of holy Ganga Purged as he was of chauvinistic proclivity and narrow parochialism he gave the nation dauntlessspirit of oneness of the nation assigned to her the role of leader meant to fulfil the long overdue sense of raising Asiaas a whole from her inferior status to that of a dynamic leader. India’s freedom should be precursor of freedom of Asia.

The paramount part conspicuously played by Sri Ramakrishna in the tumultuous conditions prevailing then is notnegligible. The reforms aimed at by Raja Rammohun Roy and followed by his loyal followers did some good to thesociety and saved it from bizarre practices and oppressive beliefs. The society, however, was not yet ready to followthe path of discretion and self-knowledge.

At this crucial juncture there arose like beckon light in the midst of gathering darkness Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsain Dakshineswar, eleven miles from Kolkatta. The disillusioned new-fangled Rammohunites realized the futility of theirmovement to fight down the ageold and timetested civilization and culture of India by means un-Indian and philosophyeclectic. Sri Ramakrishna a born intuitive soul as he was felt the pulse of the nation and could offer the panacea to curethe malady. His spiritual light sent its luminous rays on its accord that it could attract the attention of the reformers whoin their turn enmasse rushed to Dakshineswar to kneel, to surrender to the crazy saint, shedding the fascination forintroduction of mixed Indo-European form of learning, habits and attitudes. It was time for them to introspect andknow that Indian culture had deeper-roots than they imagined. Here they were face to face with the epitome of the

supreme content of the Divine presence embodied in Sri Ramakrishna the homespun Paramahamsa. The trances, theecstasies, the God intoxicated dances, and sweet and direct parable counsel of him quietened the atmosphere. Itprovided with congenial climate to drum sense in the ears of the native. Twenty three years before his samadhi therewas born on January 12th, 1863 Narendranath Datta, later Vivekananda, the thunder and lightning of Ramakrishnaorder. He was a reluctant disciple at fist of the saint. Ramakrishna’s strange form of instilling devotion in Bhaktaappealed to the doubting Thomas Narendranath. Before the hour of his Mahasamadhi the saint transmitted andtransferred his divine life's hard earned spiritual abundance to Swami Vivekananda. Thus Vivekananda wore themantle of Sri Ramakrishna and became repository of a glorious philosophy hitherto unknown and un experienced byanybody in the universe. There sprang a mammoth literature round Ramakrishna – Vivekananda Divine combinewhich smashed the anglicized and christianised culture that had a heyday for a few decades. Now Bengal found herdecamped soul and heaved deep sigh of relief and gained sound liesure to speculate and formulate timely measures toredeem the solemn pledge took torn for the sake of the nation as a whole – freedom of the country the means whateverand whichever, violence or nonviolence; Bengal emerged adolescent efficient to light the road towards poorna swarajpeace and plenty and unification of divisive forces and disillusioned reformative profligates. The fiery enterprise ofVivekananda and the shrill cry of world solidarity as a result of adoptions of Adwaita Vedanta made practicable by thetouch of his master and by the robust utterance of the truth of it by himself now here, there and everywhere triumphed.This Dhira laid down his mortal coil nine years after Sri Aurobindo's return from England and three years before SriAurobindo took the reins of freedom struggle in Bengal. The Swami yielded ground for Sri Aurobindo.

(To be contuned)

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